Mommy Weekend

Doug was away all of Friday and Saturday, so it was all me this weekend.  We had plenty of adventures and fun (and only a few completely frustrating moments).  Here's a pictorial review of some of the highlights...

On Friday we had the Teddy Bear Picnic.  We actually had to borrow a friend's car to get there since Doug had the van.  We took the car back to its owners, but not before bumming a ride to Tavin's speech therapy appointment at Children's since it had started raining (earlier than anticipated!).  After the appointment, it was pouring, so another friend came and bailed us out (no pun intended).  I was bummed I didn't get a nice walk in, but Baby Melder #4, doesn't love long walks (or at least doesn't let me enjoy them anymore), so it's probably best the rains came down!  Thanks to Megan, Sky and Taylor for the transportation on Friday!!  

The afternoon was low key as we waited for Koen to come home from school and he enjoyed some downtime with no homework since it was Friday.  Then we had family craft time.  On a whim, I had emptied out a bunch of art supplies from our cabinet and the boys were so intrigued by it that it ended up keeping us all busy and having a blast for an hour and a half or more.  Oh, did I mention the day was now windy, rainy and the temps were dropping?  So it was perfect we had an indoor distraction for the evening!  

We made all sorts of simple crafts, but here are some watercolors the boys were extra proud of (little brother just likes to say "cheese").  Tavin's is the ocean.

Koen's is a sunset reflecting on the ocean below.

While we were coloring and crafting, Tav announced to me that he can write his name.  I've known for a long time that he can do a few letters, including the I and T, but I really had no idea he knew how to write his name.  Well, I guess he's been working on it at preschool because look at this (with no help!).

After our long craft time, it was time for dinner (which the boys ate and ate and ate and there was none left for me, so I had to make something else later for myself!  I guess crafting makes for a good appetite?!).  Then bath, lots of reading, snuggling and then bedtime.  It was a great night with my boys and I was so thankful!!  After a beautiful Summer and start to Fall, we've had so few nights of needing to stay indoors in the evening that it was actually refreshing to just sit together and create.

So, on Saturday morning we woke up to a completely different climate.  The storms on Friday brought in brisk, cold air and there was still a brisk breeze.  The sun was out on and off though and the radar was showing no rain around, so I figured I would try and get the boys out for some fresh air.  The big boys biked to the library and I pushed Penn in the stroller.  We also made a stop at Whole Foods, then we timed it right to be at the playground in time for some snacks before Koen's soccer practice there.  It was nice to go on a long walk (even if baby's not a fan) and the boys did awesome on the bikes.  Once we stopped at the playground though, we quickly got chilly!  The kids were all good sports though (again, another unintended pun!).  Here's a snapshot of the little guys who are a great audience for big brother.

And here's the soccer star himself.  Is it me or did he grow up??!!??

Shortly after I snapped these pictures, it started to drizzle.  This was odd because truly there was nothing on the radar only minutes before.  But when I checked again...uh oh!!!  There was a lot of green coming our way.  In just moments the sky opened up and it really rained and then it hailed!  All the soccer moms and kids ran for their vans.  Me and my boys???  Yeah, we ran for cover.  The stroller, prego me and my 3 boys all sat huddled under the only large enough, solid covering of the playground nearby.  When it looked like it wasn't going to let up, I made another mercy call to a friend.  We need a ride!!  Dr. Megan to the rescue yet again.  The boys loved it.  Had I not been pregnant, I probably would've made them just bike back in the hail and rain, but hoofing it home was not the best option after a long morning out, so it was such a blessing that Dr. Megan was available to come to our rescue!  Thanks again, Megan!  So, after we arrived home the big boys took a hot bath and I changed Penn into cozy clothes for naptime and laid him down.  Then I treated the boys to some hot cocoa to warm up their bellies too.  They loved it (especially since I randomly had vanilla ice cream in the freezer and put a scoop in each!).

After that we had a pretty restful afternoon (although with both boys home and not napping, it can be pretty interruptive).  Before Penn got up from his nap, the big boys and I made leaf lanterns.  Tavin and Penn collected some beautiful leaves at Highland Park a few days ago and I had stashed them away to flatten in a big, thick book of Doug's.  The boys were excited to do a craft with them and I found this lantern idea online and it looked easy enough to execute (the hardest part was scrubbing the labels off the pasta sauce jars!).  Here are the boys hard at work.

So that you can tell how they turned out, here are a few pictures of the finished product that I took the next morning when they were dry.

Pretty, aren't they?  The boys were pretty proud of their hard work (as was I of course, it's always nice when an idea from the web materializes into a success in our home!).  Unfortunately, after our fun project things deteriorated pretty quickly.  The boys were stir crazy, yet none of us really felt like going back out in the newly cold weather (still a threat of rain as well).  So, the boys basically played with the lines of acceptable behavior and somehow we got through the evening with no broken bones or bruises from their rough-housing.  We did get a few minutes Skyping with Gramma and Grampa which definitely helped and was extra fun for me of course.  Then it was dinner time, on to bath and bedtime.  Not as seamless as the night before, but we got through it and it ended on a nice note.  I love how reading books just calms us all down and brings us all together for some final cuddles of the day.  

Doug arrived home around 7:45pm and then we made pizza and relaxed!! Which I have to say after that few days with my boys I totally needed!!